A controlled early group intervention study for unaccompanied minors: Can Expressive Arts alleviate symptoms of trauma and enhance life satisfaction?

This is the first controlled study of an expressive arts group intervention with unaccompanied minor asylum seeking children. The aim of the study was to examine whether such an intervention may alleviate symptoms of trauma and enhance life satisfaction and hope. One hundred forty five unaccompanied minor refugee boys with their stated age between 15 and 18 were allocated into a 10 session 5 weeks manualized expressive arts intervention (EXIT) or a life as usual (LAU) control group.

Validity of screening for psychiatric disorders in unaccompanied minor asylum seekers: Use of computer-based assessment.

Self-report screening is an important element of transcultural research. Problems concerning illiteracy, cultural sensitivity, and possible misunderstandings have been handled differently in different settings. The aim of this study was to evaluate the validity of two well-known instruments: the Hopkins Symptoms Check List (HSCL-25), and the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ, Part IV), with a sample of 160 unaccompanied asylum-seeking adolescents from Afghanistan and Somalia.

The impact of the asylum process on mental health: a longitudinal study of unaccompanied refugee minors in Norway.

Objectives: To examine the mental health of unaccompanied refugee minors prospectively during the asylum-seeking process, with a focus on specific stages in the asylum process, such as age assessment, placement in a supportive or non-supportive facility and final decision on the asylum applications.

Design: This was a2½ year follow-up study of unaccompanied minors (UM) seeking asylum in Norway. Data were collected within three weeks (n=138) and at 4 months (n=101), 15 months (n=84) and 26 months (n=69) after arrival.

The mental health of unaccompanied refugee minors on arrival in the host country.

Despite increasing numbers of unaccompanied refugee minors (UM) in Europe and heightened concerns for this group, research on their mental health has seldom included the factor "time since arrival." As a result, our knowledge of the mental health statuses of UM at specific points in time and over periods in their resettlement trajectories in European host countries is limited. This study therefore examined the mental health of UM shortly after their arrival in Norway (n = 204) and Belgium (n = 103) through the use of self-report questionnaires (HSCL-37A, SLE, RATS, HTQ).